Author: Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.
Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on XIAO RP2350 is a tiny USB-C board based on Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU

XIAO RP2350 is a tiny USB-C board based on Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU

XIAO RP2350

The XIAO RP2350 is an upgrade to Seeed Studio’s XIAO RP2040 board with a more powerful Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core Cortex-M33 or dual-core RISC-V microcontroller found in the just-launched Raspberry Pi Pico 2 board. The new Raspberry Pi RP2350 USB-C board has the same form factor but adds eight more GPIOs on the bottom with pads for a total of 19 GPIOs, and we lose two LEDs for serial port connectivity. Most people will still be fine with the XIAO RP2040, but if you need a more powerful microcontroller, extra memory, a few extra GPIOs, and built-in security, then the XIAO RP2350 will be an improvement. XIAO RP2350 specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350 MCU CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 processor @ 150MHz (Note: again RISC-V is not mentioned at all by Seeed Studio, like for the Cytron MOTION 2350 Pro board) Memory – 520KB internal RAM 8KB OTP Storage […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Cytron MOTION 2350 Pro – A Raspberry Pi RP2350 board for robotics and motor control

Cytron MOTION 2350 Pro – A Raspberry Pi RP2350 board for robotics and motor control

Cytron MOTION 2350 PRO

As mentioned in the Raspberry Pi Pico 2 article, third-party RP2350 boards are already available, and one of them is the MOTION 2350 Pro board from Cytron designed for robotics and motor control. The board features a DC motor driver capable of controlling up to 4 brushed DC motors with voltage ratings from 3.6V to 16V. It also features eight 5V servo ports, eight GPIO ports, and three Maker ports for sensor or actuator modules. Each I/O is matched with its own LED which makes the board ideal for the education market and also simplifies debugging. Finally, a USB 1.1 host port is present to connect peripherals such as the RF dongle for a joystick or a keyboard. Cytron MOTION 2350 Pro specifications: Microcontroller – Raspberry Pi RP2350 CPU – Dual-core Arm Cortex-M33 processor @ 150MHz (RISC-V cores are not mentioned, so they are likely not used at all) Memory […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 18 Comments on $5 Raspberry Pi Pico 2 launched with Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core RISC-V or Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller

$5 Raspberry Pi Pico 2 launched with Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core RISC-V or Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller

Raspberry Pi Pico 2

The Raspberry Pi Pico 2 is an MCU development board based on the new Raspberry Pi RP2350 dual-core RISC-V or dual-core Cortex-M33 microcontroller with 520 KB on-chip SRAM, a 4MB flash, a micro USB port for power and programming and the same GPIO headers as the Raspberry Pi Pico board with an RP2040 dual-core Cortex-M0+ microcontroller with 264KB SRAM. The RP2350 embeds both an open-source Hazard3 RISC-V dual-core CPU and a dual-core Cortex-M33, but only one cluster can be used at a given time. Apart from the faster MCU cores and higher SRAM capacity, the RP2350 is about the same as the RP2040, albeit it also adds one extra PIO block bringing the total to three. One important new feature is built-in security when using Arm Cortex-M33 cores with Trustzone and other security features. Raspberry Pi RP2350 microcontroller Let’s have a closer look at the RP2350 microcontroller, before checking out […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on ADLINK SBC35-ALN 3.5-inch Intel N97 SBC features SBC-FM expansion connector with PCIe, USB, SMBus

ADLINK SBC35-ALN 3.5-inch Intel N97 SBC features SBC-FM expansion connector with PCIe, USB, SMBus

ADLINK SBC35-ALN 3.5-inch Intel N97 SBC

ADLINK SBC35-ALN is a 3.5-inch Intel N97 SBC with up to 16GB DDR5, an M.2 socket for M.2 storage, and a custom SBC-FM expansion connector with PCIe Gen3 x1, USB 2.0, and SMBus interfaces. The 3.5-inch board also features two gigabit Ethernet ports, three display interfaces with HDMI, DisplayPort, and LVDS or eDP, several USB ports and RS232/RS422/RS485 serial interfaces, 40-pin box headers, and M.2 E-Key and B-Key sockets for wireless expansion. ADLINK SBC35-ALN specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N97 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.6 GHz with 6MB Cache, Intel UHD Graphics; 12W TDP System Memory – Up to 16GB DDR5 4800 MHz via SODIMM slot Storage 1x SATA III + SATA power connector 256 Mbit SPI flash for BIOS Display 1x DisplayPort 1.4 1x HDMI 2.0 through DP to HDMI Redriver LVDS/eDP (default: LVDS) Supports 3 independent displays Audio Realtek ALC888S audio codec 1x Line-in, 1x […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 10 Comments on Google kills the Chromecast, introduces the Google TV Streamer for both video streaming and Smart Home control

Google kills the Chromecast, introduces the Google TV Streamer for both video streaming and Smart Home control

Google TV Streamer

Google has just announced the Chromecast media streamer would be phased out, introducing instead the Google TV Streamer for both TV streaming and the Smart Home with not only gigabit Ethernet, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5.1 connectivity, but also Matter support and Thread border router function. The Android TV device comes with 4GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash, an HDMI 2.1 port supporting up to 4Kp60, and a USB-C port for power and data. A voice remote control is also included, and the solution is not integrated with the Smart Home allowing users to connect to locks and motion sensors through Thread/Matter, monitor their security camera systems, and more. Google TV Streamer specifications: CPU – Not disclosed, but allegedly the MediaTek MT8696 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 processor @ 1.8 GHz, Imagination GE9215 GPU @ 750MHz as found in the Amazon Fire TV Stick 4K Max is used here. System Memory – […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments on ESP32-P4-Function-EV-Board development board launched for $55 with 7-inch display and camera module

ESP32-P4-Function-EV-Board development board launched for $55 with 7-inch display and camera module

ESP32-P4 development board

Espressif Systems “ESP32-P4-Function-EV-Board” – the official ESP32-P4 development board – is now available in limited quantities on Espressif’s AliExpress store for $55.44, and some other AliExpress stores at a premium as part of a kit with a 7-inch touchscreen display and a 2MP camera module. First unveiled in January 2023, the ESP32-P4 is the first general-purpose RISC-V microcontroller from Espressif Systems without any wireless connectivity. It’s a high-end microcontroller with two RISC-V cores clocked at 400 MHz, vector instructions for AI acceleration, a 2D graphics accelerator for smooth graphical user interfaces, and H.264 video encoding support. There’s been some buzz about it in recent months, and finally, it’s now possible to purchase an ESP32-P4 board for evaluation and software development. ESP32-P4-Function-EV-Board development board specifications: Microcontroller – Espressif Systems ESP32-P4 CPU Dual-core RISC-V HP (High-performance) CPU @ up to 400 MHz with AI instructions extension and single-precision FPU, 768KB of on-chip […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - No Comments on Geniatech SOM-3576 – A Rockchip RK3576 system-on-module with a 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector

Geniatech SOM-3576 – A Rockchip RK3576 system-on-module with a 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector

Rockchip RK3576 system-on-module 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector

Geniatech SOM-3576 is another system-on-module (SoM) powered by Rockchip RK3576 octa-core Cortex-A72/A53 AI SoC but with a 314-pin MXM 3.0 edge connector to expose I/Os. It follows other RK3576 SoMs like the Boardcon CM3576 with castellated edges and the Forlinx FET3576-C with board-to-board connectors. The SOM-3576 module supports up to 16GB RAM, and 256GB eMMC flash, and comes with a Rockchip PMIC. I can also see a footprint for 512GB or 1TB UFS storage as Firefly did on the Firefly ROC-RK3576-PC single board computer. Geniatech SOM-3576 specifications: SoC – Rockchip RK3576 CPU 4x Cortex-A72 cores at 2.3 GHz, 4x Cortex-A53 cores at 2.2 GHz Arm Cortex-M0 MCU at 400MHz GPU – ARM Mali-G52 MC3 GPU with support for OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.2, OpenCL up to 2.0, and Vulkan 1.1 NPU – 6 TOPS (INT8) AI accelerator with support for INT4/INT8/INT16/BF16/TF32 mixed operations. VPU Video Decoder – H.264, H.265, VP9, […]

Posted on by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 6 Comments on Waveshare ESP32-S3-Zero is a tiny WiFi and BLE IoT module with a USB-C port, up to 32 GPIOs

Waveshare ESP32-S3-Zero is a tiny WiFi and BLE IoT module with a USB-C port, up to 32 GPIOs

ESP32-S3-Zero

Waveshare ESP32-S3-Zero is a tiny (23.5×18 mm) module based on Espressif ESP32-S3 WiFi 4 and BLE microcontroller with two rows of nine through holes plus 16 pads for GPIOs, a USB-C port for power and programming, Boot and Reset buttons, and a ceramic antenna. It reminds me of the Seeed Studio’s XIAO ESP32S3 module with an even smaller 21 x 17.5mm design, but the ESP32-S3-Zero offers more GPIOs, an RGB LED, and a built-in ceramic antenna instead of a u.FL connector for an external antenna. Waveshare ESP32-S3-Zero specifications: Wireless MCU – Espressif Systems ESP32-FH4R2 CPU – dual-core Tensilica LX7 microcontroller @ 240 MHz Memory – 512KB SRAM,  2MB PSRAM Storage – 4MB flash Wireless – Wi-Fi 4 & Bluetooth 5.0 dual-mode (classic + BLE) connectivity Antenna – 2.4 GHz ceramic antenna USB – USB Type-C port for power and programming Expansion I/Os 2x 9-pin 2.54mm pitch headers and castellated holes […]

EmbeddedTS embedded systems design